Smart wristband tells DJs if the audience is enjoying the show

Publishing & Media

Lightwave is a piece of wearable tech that delivers live crowd engagement data to DJs, helping them tailor their set in real time.

The crowd can make or break a concert — if they’re not having a good time then the entire event can fall flat, and the best performers can adjust their sets by reading the audience’s reaction. A piece of wearable tech called Lightwave now hopes to make this process easier, by delivering crowd engagement data to DJs in real time.

Created by Rana June, one of the pioneers of live iPad DJing, the band is designed to be worn by concert attendees, who would receive them at the start of the show. The bands measure data such as movement, audio levels and body temperature, and these data points are then fed through to the DJ, who can see at a glance how many people are dancing and how well those at the back can hear the music. Since DJs already often include events in their sets designed to get the crowd going — ‘dropping the bass’, for example — Lightwave aims to give them data that can help them decide the best point to do it. The system could also be set up so that crowd activity automatically unlocks an event when it reaches a certain threshold. The video below serves as an advertisement for the system:

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The first ‘bioreactive’ concert to showcase the device was held at SXSW earlier this month, in a Pepsi-sponsored show by turntablist A-Trak. In the past, artists such as Dan Deacon have integrated crowds’ smartphones into the performance to bring the artist and performer closer together, and Lightwave also aims to give DJs a greater connection with their audience. How else can live audience feedback help drive creative performances, as well as ticket sales?